Games such as “laser tag”, paintball, air soft, dodgeball, etc. require a game field or system with obstacles inside so that game players can compete against each other simulating different game formats, such as certain a video game, a war game, or other game formats. In many situations, the game will be conducted at a temporary location instead of at a facility, so mobility of the game field or system is required. The game field size also may vary from time to time depending on number of participants and game format. The more participants, the bigger the field size that is required. Therefore, a game field system with the capability to change size as needed is greatly desired. For all game fields, safety is always a top priority.
Obstacles inside the field or system are required to form the internal field layout. There are many ways to build or generate the obstacles. Some obstacles use existing items, such as old trucks, cars, planes, etc. Some obstacles are built from lumber, plastic pipe, wood spools, pallets, etc. All these obstacles may be well-suited for a game field set-up that is in a permanent location, however it would be time consuming and costly to transfer such obstacles to a different location. These obstacles are definitely not designed for mobility. All the hard material from which the obstacles may be formed may come with sharp edges, angles or points, which may be a safety concern for game players.
There are inflatable game obstacles currently available. The inflatable game field and obstacles can be divided in two main categories, i.e. constant-air design or air-tight design, according to how they maintain an inflated shape. The air-tight game field is formed by a plurality of individual inflatable obstacles. Each individual inflatable obstacle is inflated and sealed individually. Once it is inflated, it can maintain the inflated shape for hours for gaming use. The quantity of the obstacles usually depends on the game field size, and can range from 10-50 units, for example. The various individual inflatable obstacles may be designed in varying sizes and shapes to increase the diversity of the game field. The air-tight obstacle game field system allows for great mobility and flexibility in forming the size of the field. However, each air-tight obstacle requires at least 1 to 5 minutes to be inflated (depending on the size of the obstacle), therefore setting up the game field with this arrangement (especially a large-size field) may take hours. Furthermore, the same amount of hours, or more, may be needed to take them down.
Another drawback for the air-tight obstacles is that when the sealed obstacles are used in an outdoor environment, the sun and heat will increase the internal pressure quickly, causing the obstacles overinflate and burst. Due to the air-tight requirement, any minor leak from anywhere on such an inflatable obstacle will deflate the obstacle and stop it from functioning properly.
The other main kind of inflatable game field is a constant-air inflatable, which requires constant-air flow supplied from a blower to maintain the inflated shape. The constant-air game fields normally are pre-made in size and with regard to the internal layout of obstacles. They are inflated and maintain their inflated shape via the constant air flow of the blower, which blower connects to the inflatable via an air inlet, usually located about 1-2′ above ground and extending out of the side of the inflatable, to correspond to the height and location of the blower. To form a bigger field size as needed, multiple constant-air fields can be used together. When they are used together, they are inflated separately by their respective blowers. For a constant-air game field, they are pre-made in size, thus lacking the ability to change field size as needed. Also, the air inlet extending from the side of such a game field may constitute a tripping hazard. When multiple constant-air field are in used, due to the fact that each inflatable is inflated individually via its blower, multiple power sources are needed for the separate blowers, or multiple extension cords are needed to supply power from a centralized power source. The increased number of air inlets definitely increases the risk of a tripping hazard. Moreover, the extension cords create an additional concern of electric shock. Another limitation is that these pre-made inflatable game fields can only be used together in certain orientations or configurations, dependent on how they are pre-made or the location(s) of a power source, for example.